Sunset's Journey
by SportsMetalWWEandPonyFan2578
Summary: When Equestrian friendships go by the wayside and the land is in serious jeopardy, Celestia enlists the help of the unlikeliest of ponies: Sunset Shimmer. Will Sunset and Celestia save Equestria before it's too late or will they die trying? Read and review! Thanks, guys!
1. Prologue: Celestia's Letter

_Sunset Shimmer,_

_Our world is dying. This realm is no longer mine to command. Equestria is being destroyed. The sun will no longer rise on my command, nor the moon on my sister's. Our magic has been stolen away from us. Friendships that once burned bright with the fire of trust and loyalty now lay dormant and, in some cases, completely decimated. Ponies are dying left and right and I am powerless to stop it. My sister has been taken prisoner by one of the new factions of Equestria. Princess Cadance has fled to Saddle Arabia with her family. I am the only one left. You may be asking yourself about Princess Twilight. She has turned into a raging monster, as have her 5 friends. I need your help, Sunset. Please come to Equestria. Please help me. I cannot do this by myself. The love and friendliness that Equestria once enjoyed is gone, and I need your help to reclaim it. I need you, Sunset Shimmer. Please, help me save our beloved home._

_ Princess Celestia_


	2. A Prodigal's Return

Sunset Shimmer yawned and stretched, looking at the clock in the classroom. The hands seemed to be made out of lead as the day stretched on and on and on. _How is it still only third period? _She asked herself. Mr. Doodle's lecture on trigonometry was getting to her, only in all the wrong ways. His mouth seemed to move in slow motion as he gave the class their assignment. "Alright, now I want you to work on this for the rest of the period," he said.

The students quickly flipped open their notebooks and went to work. Sunset looked over at her friend Twilight Sparkle. She was racing through the problems like they were kindergarten level math. She then looked at her other friend Rainbow Dash. She snored away, having fallen asleep during the lecture, and Mr. Doodle had to walk over and poke her on the shoulder. "Having pleasant dreams, Ms. Dash?" He asked her. She looked up and blushed when she noticed the whole class staring at her. "Now, get to work," he commanded, pointing at the board. Dash groaned and reluctantly began working on the assignment. Sunset giggled to herself. _Same old Dash, _she said before looking at Twilight, _same old Twilight. I hope they never change! _

After the bell finally rang, announcing lunch, Sunset met her five friends outside by the statue that adorned the front lawn of the school that also doubled as the portal to Equestria. They had each brought their own lunches that day, refusing to pay money for the slop the cafeteria referred to as Chicken a La King. Plus, Fluttershy was a vegetarian, so it made it a lot easier for her.

They sat down in front of the statue, relishing in the blue skies and warm weather of spring time. "I can't believe graduation is only six weeks away!" Fluttershy said, smiling. The other girls smiled as well. "Yep," Rainbow Dash said, "six weeks until we can blow this dump."

"Oh, come on, Dash," Twilight said, "this place isn't a dump. It's a beautiful educational institution filled with brilliant minds eager to make their mark on the world at large."

Dash laughed, "oh, please, Twilight. This is nothing more than a prison!"

"It is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Whoa, girls," Sunset cut in, "settle down! This isn't like you. Come on. We're high schoolers about to enter college. I think we can do a little better than an immature "is not, is too," argument."

Twilight sighed, "you're right, Sunset. Although I still believe that this is a wonderful place. I sure am gonna miss it…and I'm gonna miss all of you."

Pinkie Pie gasped, "but why, Twilight?! We're all going to the same school, aren't we?!" 

"Yep!" Dash said excitedly, "The University of Tennessee! GO VOLS!"

The other girls cheered, except for Twilight. "Sorry," she said, "but I'm not going there." Her friends gave her a weird look. "What do you mean, Twi?" Applejack asked, "we've all been plannin' on goin' to UT ever since we were small. We're all huge Vol fans, and we've all visited there."

"I haven't," Twilight said, "I…I've been accepted to Harvard."

"Wow!" Sunset breathed, "that's awesome, Twilight!"

"How the heck can you say that?!" Dash said furiously, "it's the opposite of awesome! It's so totally NOT awesome! I mean, what does this mean for our friendship?!"

"Look, Dash, it's my life, OK?" Twilight said, just as furiously, "and I'll live it the way I want to live it!"

"While I admire that, I'm still not OK with you trouncing off to some egghead school while we all stick together and go to the same place! I mean, you're our friend!"

"And I can still be your friend even if I'm at Harvard! Did you ever think of that?!"

The two girls were right in one another's faces and Sunset had to move them apart. "Girls! Come on! We're all friends, here. Dash, it doesn't matter if Twilight goes to a different school from the rest of us. Like that could ever ruin what we've built here together." She smiled at Rainbow Dash. Dash, on the other hand, scowled at both Sunset and Twilight. Twilight scowled back and both girls turned their backs towards each other. "Oh, come on, you two," Applejack said, "y'all are actin' like a couple of kindergartners!"

Twilight and Rainbow turned back to each other. "Oh…I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, "I guess I got a little carried away with being accepted to Harvard. I didn't think about how it would affect our friendship."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too," Dash said, "I just don't want you to go." She smiled at Twilight and the two friends embraced each other. "See? That's how you resolve conflicts," Sunset said satisfactorily, "I just hope nothing else like that happens…"

As the words left her lips, something came flying through the Equestrian portal and hit her in the back of the head. "Hey!" She said, "what the heck was that?"

"Maybe it was an Equestrian flying saucer!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly

"Doubt it," Rainbow said, "although with Equestrian magic, I guess I really shouldn't doubt much of anything…"

"It's one of Princess Celestia's scrolls," Sunset said, "this is what she uses to communicate with her students."

"Weren't you one of her students, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, I was," Sunset said, "but I never expected to receive any communication from Equestria except for what Princess Twilight writes in that journal I've got."

"Read it! Read it!" Pinkie Pie sang out

"OK…," Sunset said, and then proceeded to read Celestia's letter out loud. Their mouths all fell open in shock as she read about how Equestria was being demolished and friendship was almost nonexistent. Sunset's eyes filled with tears as she read about how her best friend, Princess Twilight, had turned into a raging monster.

"Wait-wait-wait," Rainbow said, "you mean Princess Twilight, the same girl that saved our school two times and is one of our closest friends, has turned into a raging monster?! THE Princess Twilight?! I don't believe it! It has to be a Twilight clone!"

"I'm afraid not, Rainbow," Sunset said sadly, "Celestia would never lie about anything, and especially not something this huge."

"So, what are you gonna do?" Fluttershy asked

"Yes, darling," Rarity put in, "what are you going to do?"

"I…I…I don't know," Sunset said, "I want to go back and help Celestia, but I'm scared of what I'll find there. I mean, what if I get back and Equestria is a desolate wasteland filled with ponies who are constantly at each other's throats?"

"Um…isn't that basically what the letter described?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Not helping, Dash," Sunset said. Dash shrank back, blushing a little. Sunset sighed, "I need to go back. Equestria is my birthplace. I may live here now, but Equestria will always be my home. I need to help save it."

"Then we'll go with you," Dash said. But Sunset shook her head, "no, Dash. I don't want you getting hurt. I'm venturing into oblivion here and I can't ask you to go with me. Plus, having two of you in Equestria would make things kinda confusing." They all chuckled nervously at this prospect before Sunset continued, "I really appreciate the offer. But I have to return to Equestria alone. Tell Principal Celestia that I've gone to help Princess Celestia in Equestria. She'll understand."

With that, Sunset got up and strapped her backpack on. She turned to the portal and breathed heavily. "Don't you worry, Sunset," Twilight said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "we've got your back. If you need any help, just call."

"But Twilight, there are no phones…" She stopped as Twilight laid something in her hand. "I've managed to harness some of the power from the geode around my neck to create a cellphone that features two-way communication between dimensions. I've got the other one here." She held it out. Sunset smiled. "Thanks, Twi. This means a lot. I'll be sure and let you know how things are going!" She hugged Twilight and stepped through the portal and back into Equestria.


	3. An Equestrian Wasteland

Sunset stepped out of the portal and nearly fell over backwards. _Ugh, remember, you have four legs now, not two, _she told herself as she got back up. She looked around her and immediately recognized the place she was in. _It's Twilight's castle, _she said to herself, _only…something's definitely wrong. _

The portal had dumped her in Twilight's library, but there were no books on the shelves. They were torn into pieces and scattered about on the floor. Some of the wayward pages were stuck on the chandelier that once lived on the ceiling, but now made its residence in a pile of rubbish. The door was ajar and two of the hinges were broken. The ceiling was shattered, and dark clouds reigned supreme over the hole above Sunset's head.

"Man, something really terrible must've happened," she said out loud. She couldn't believe that she was standing in this type of environment in Twilight's castle. The princess was normally so neat and orderly about things. Then Sunset remembered Celestia's letter, and how she had described Twilight turning into a "raging monster."

"I've got to get to Canterlot," she told herself, "I've gotta find Celestia and fix this whole mess." So she turned and ran through the doorway into the hall. It was even worse, with tables and debris scattered everywhere. She dodged some of the damaged goods on the way towards Twilight's front hall.

She skidded around a corner, and immediately darted back into the shadows, for there, seated on a throne of silver and spikes, was Twilight. She looked different. Instead of her happy purple eyes, she bore eyes of the deepest red. Her mouth was snarled, and her mane unkempt. There also appeared to be some kind of charm around her neck.

Some guards approached her, bowing as they did. _Wow, _Sunset thought, _Celestia was right. This Twilight is totally different. _"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?!" Twilight screamed at her soldiers, "HOW IN THE NAME OF MY GREATNESS COULD YOU LET THEM GET AWAY?!" Sunset's mouth fell open. She had never heard Twilight speak that way before. Even the human Twilight hardly ever yelled at anyone.

One of the guards stepped forward. "Your Majesty, please forgive us, they were…"

"They were what?" Twilight growled. The guard stepped back, "they were threatening us. They had weapons! They had leverage!"

"Leverage, my tail!" Twilight said sharply, "the fact of the matter is, you let Cadance and her family escape, and after we went through all that trouble attacking Saddle Arabia just to capture them! Remember, I AM QUEEN OF THIS WORLD and when you defy or disappoint me…IT'S DEATH FOR YOU!"

When she said that, a pony came out of the shadows on the other side of the room. He was wearing a black mask and magically holding an axe. "Adrian…" Twilight said calmly, "…please be a dear and decapitate these idiots for me."

"Of course, Your Majesty!" Adrian responded. His voice was thick and raspy, and it made Sunset shiver in her horseshoes. He stepped forward and knocked the lead guard down. "No! Please! No!" The poor guard cried out, "Please, Your Majesty, we won't disappoint you ever again! Please! PLEASE!"

Suddenly, Twilight put a hoof up. "Wait!" Adrian stopped with the axe in midair and Sunset breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this Twilight could show some compassion after all. "Do you really want to prove yourselves to me?" The guards eagerly nodded, fearful for their lives. "Then find and bring my sister-in-law and my brother and my niece back here…and when you do…kill all three of them in my sight."

The guards gave each other horrified looks. "But, Your Majesty, little Flurry…"

"DID I STUTTER?!" Twilight screamed, "DID I?! HM?! NO! NO, I DIDN'T! SO GO AND DO AS YOU'RE TOLD, OR ELSE YOU GET THE AXE!"

The guards shook with fear and bowed low. "As you wish, Your Majesty," the lead guard said. "Alright, guys, let's go," he ordered his subordinates. As they left, Twilight reclined back on her throne with a satisfied look. "SPIKE!" She suddenly yelled. Spike stepped forward and Sunset gasped. He was dressed in armor, with spikes protruding from the helmet. He had an evil grin and looked up at his mistress. "Go find your wife and tell her that the attack on Cloudsdale is on."

"Of course, Queen Twilight," he said. _Queen of what, I wonder, _Sunset thought. She certainly couldn't have been queen of Equestria, no matter how many times she might have told herself that. Then Sunset jerked around with a start. _SPIKE'S MARRIED?! _She screamed to herself. Then she shook her head. _That doesn't matter now. I have to find Princess Celestia. _

So she waited for an opportune time to escape. It didn't take long. One of Twilight's guards came into the room and whispered something in her ear. She giggled like a school filly and left the room with him. Sunset put two and two together and guessed what she would be up to. _So she's not only a terrible dictator, but she's also debauched as heck, too, _she told herself.

She ran out the front door of the castle and flew through Ponyville. She noticed that the typically lively little cottages of the town were dark and dreary. Windows were broken, homes had been vandalized, and she swore she saw blood on one or two door stoops. She ran towards the train station, hoping to catch the Friendship Express to Canterlot. Unfortunately, when she got there, she found that the train station had been destroyed and the tracks had been torn to pieces.

_OK…I guess I'm walking, then_. So she began her journey to Canterlot. Luckily for her, the royal capital was only a few miles away. On the way there, she tried to make sense of what she had seen back in Ponyville. _How could Twilight do that to her own family? _She asked herself, _she always gushes about her little niece when she writes to me. She loves that little Alicorn…or at least, she did. _

She just couldn't figure it out. She couldn't believe that Twilight could be so cruel and spiteful. She wondered what happened to make her that way. That certainly wasn't the Twilight she knew. _Maybe she had a scare, or something else happened to her. Maybe one of her friends betrayed her. _Then she shook her head. _No! No! Nothing like that could ever happen! That group was tighter than the laces on a pair of boots. _She stopped and chuckled to herself. _Man, I've been hanging out with Applejack too much. But, seriously, what could have happened to Twilight?_

She pondered this question for the next hour or so until she reached the front gate of Canterlot. She stopped short. She couldn't believe her eyes. What was once her happy home had been smashed into unrecognizable oblivion. Canterlot had been completely annihilated.


	4. A Semi-Royal Meeting

Sunset walked through the dusty remains of Canterlot, besought with grief over her former home. She was able to feel her way through the streets, even though they were coated with a thick layer of grime and soot. She looked around and was able to recognize certain areas. _That was where the library was, _she said to herself as pain laced her emotions, _and that was where the bakery was…and that was where my house was. _

Seeing her old home in ruins was too much and she broke down crying in the middle of the street. She just couldn't believe she was standing in Canterlot. What once had been the most beautiful and exquisite city in all Equestria now lay as nothing more than a common landfill. She sniffed and looked up. The dark clouds covering the sky seemed to laugh at her as her heart was breaking. It not only broke for her old home, but for all Equestria. _I've got to put a stop to this, _she thought as she furrowed her brow determinedly.

She arose and continued towards the royal palace. _I'll bet it's a shambles by now, _she thought sadly, but then bucked up. "No," she said out loud, "I won't let this beat me. I've got to find Celestia." She hurried through the streets, remembering her way right to the palace's front door. When she arrived, her worst fears were confirmed. The palace lay in complete disarray. The roof had been blown off, and she could see Celestia and Luna's throne room. It had been destroyed, too.

Slowly she made her way through the once dazzling palace, calling out Celestia's name cautiously as she went. Not only was she saddened by all the devastation, but she was also fearful of some random pony jumping out and attacking her. Her paranoia grew, and suddenly she was darting back and forth from shadow to shadow. After doing this a few times, she suddenly regained control of her faculties. "It's OK, Sunset," she said to herself, "there's nopony here…at least, none that would hurt you."

She maneuvered her way around some fallen shelves and found a door that seemed to be intact. It had a huge picture of the sun on it. _Bingo, _she told herself, _this has to be Celestia's bedroom. _Cautiously, she knocked on the door. "Hello?" She called out, "anypony in there?" She received no answer, so she tried again, only a little louder. "Anypony in there?!"

Suddenly, the door swung open and a pony appeared out of the darkness. "Who goes there?!" The pony said fiercely, "Twilight, I swear, if you've come to…" She suddenly stopped and looked down. "Sunset Shimmer?"

Sunset looked surprised. She had never seen this pony before in her life. The mare certainly looked like Celestia, from a coat perspective, but her mane didn't flow and she had no wings. She also looked very sick, and she seemed like she hadn't seen anypony in quite some time. _Still, though, she cried out Twilight's name when she opened the door, _Sunset thought, _but, I'm sure everypony knows Twilight. After all, she was a princess. _

Still, she remained cautious. "Do I know you?" She asked tentatively. The other mare's mouth dropped open in shock. "Of course you do!" She said, "I'm Princess Celestia!" "…Princess Celestia?" Sunset asked in disbelief. The other mare nodded, "please, come in, Sunset."

She smiled down at Sunset and immediately Sunset recognized the kind face and warm smile that normally bedecked the face of the princess. This was definitely Celestia, so Sunset smiled back and ran to her. The two old friends, turned enemies, turned friends again embraced each other. "Thank you so much for coming on such short notice," Celestia said, "I fear our time is dwindling."

"What in the world is going on here, Princess?" Sunset asked in a rush, "I mean, I just came from Ponyville, and it's in a shambles and Canterlot's in a shambles and…"

Celestia put a hoof to Sunset's mouth. "One thing at a time, Sunset," she said. She turned and walked back towards a giant fireplace, or rather, what was left of the giant fireplace. Its stones, which at one time, Sunset guessed, had been hoof hewn and placed with gentle care and precision now lay broken and scattered.

She couldn't believe she was standing in Princess Celestia's chambers. Normally, students weren't allowed to go in this wing of the palace unless directly ordered by one of the princesses. But obviously, these circumstances were incredibly dire. "Princess?" She asked, "what about your school?"

Celestia shook her head sadly, "my school is no more. It died the day Twilight and Rainbow Dash attacked Canterlot." Sunset's mouth dropped open. "But why would they attack Canterlot?" Celestia looked out a broken window and began telling her story:

"As you know, Canterlot was a beautiful place full of life, love, and friendship. I always took great pains to make sure that these three things never disappeared from the daily life of the city. I also took great pains to make sure that individuality was never out of reach for anypony. But then…then the great war began.

It all started at a Friendship School board meeting. Twilight wanted to expand the school and bring in more students. This was easily agreed upon by all the faculty members. However, it was how the school was to be expanded and the methods of attracting new students that became a point of contention and, hard as it may be to believe, has led to what you see here today."

She stopped and looked back at Sunset. The yellow mare was seated on the floor and, even though she looked to be in a perpetual state of shock, her cocked ears told Celestia she was listening. So the princess continued:

"Twilight wanted to build a new library for prospective students to tour. She wanted them to see that the School of Friendship would be giving them a valuable education on the subject. But Rainbow Dash wanted to build a new gymnasium/athletic complex for them to tour. She wanted them to see that the School of Friendship didn't scrimp on exercise in favor of having them sit in their dorm rooms studying all day."

"So…why didn't they compromise, or just build both?"

"The school didn't have the necessary space to build both and neither one was willing to come off of her respective soapbox."

"Didn't have the necessary space?" Sunset asked, "but Twilight's sent me a picture of her school in that journal. It's massive! Add to that the fact that there seems to be a lot of space around the school."

"Unfortunately, Twilight only owned so much land around there. The rest was private property." Sunset nodded and Celestia continued:

"So Rainbow Dash and Twilight's anger mounted as they both gave their cases for why the school should be expanded in their way. I was attending the meeting and, much to my shock and sadness, the two began hurling barbed insults at each other. Rainbow called Twilight an out of shape egghead with mush for hooves and Twilight called Rainbow a two-faced, backstabbing jock with mush for brains.

Before I could interfere and stop them, they came to blows. They fought each other out of the conference room and down the school's hallway. I tried to separate them, but to no avail. Even after all of their friends got involved and we finally untied them, they still sat screaming and spitting at each other. I couldn't believe that my beloved former student and The Princess of Friendship, was saying these things to one of her closest friends."

Sunset understood perfectly. _It's just like Twilight and Rainbow back in my world, _she thought, _only they resolved their differences. I wonder if the ponies did as well_. Out loud, she asked, "so…what happened next?" The princess sighed and continued:

"We finally got them quiet and I gave them each a punishment. I gave Rainbow Dash some assigned reading from a book that Twilight had recently written on friendship. I'll never forget the murderous look that she gave me, but I gave her my own stern look and she backed off. I told Twilight that she needed to go and play a few games of buck ball with Rainbow Dash to rekindle their friendship.

But then Twilight did something I never thought I'd ever see her do. She screamed at me that she would never do something like that, she screamed at Rainbow that their friendship was over and she screamed that the School of Friendship was closed, effective immediately. She also declared war on Rainbow Dash. So Dash tore up the book I had given her to read and declared war right back.

Their poor friends were caught in the crossfire and had a decision to make. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before it became a screaming match among the seven of them. Applejack and Pinkie Pie took Rainbow's side and Rarity, Fluttershy, and Starlight took Twilight's side. I tried desperately to make them see what good friends they had been, but they were determined. They actually threw me out of the school together before going right back into fighting.

Over the next few months, Twilight put together a legitimate army and declared war on Equestria. She said that she was going to take over the country and make everypony in it her student and force them to learn things her way. She killed the Mayor of Ponyville and completely redesigned and rebranded it as Sparkleberg. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash did the same thing and declared war on Equestria. She was going to force everypony in Equestria to keep to a vigorous exercise regimen. She attacked the Crystal Empire, and all the ponies there, including my niece, Cadance and her family, had to either flee or die. She renamed it Dashopolis. Unfortunately, what had started out as a simple disagreement led to total chaos. Both armies attacked Canterlot at the same time and ended up fighting each other. I've never, ever seen bloodshed within Canterlot's walls.

I couldn't rule anymore. Ponies were actively taking sides. Friendships were being torn apart before my very eyes and I couldn't do anything about it. Luna was taken prisoner by the Dashites, as they like to call themselves. I tried to fight them off, but somehow they had methods of stealing magic. So they stole mine. Fortunately, they didn't get Luna's. Unfortunately, they caged her in a magic proof box and took her off to Dashopolis. Ever since then, it's been a war across Equestria. Cloudsdale no longer produces the weather, because the ponies there are just as divided. The black clouds that you see are from the numerous fires across the land. Our forests are burning, Sunset, just as my heart is burning; and now, since I have no magic left within me, my wings are gone and my mane no longer flows freely as it once did."

As Celestia finished her story, she turned to see tears dripping off Sunset's cheeks. Sunset couldn't believe that Twilight and her former friends had turned into such devastating, evil ponies. "So…what do we do now?"

"I…" Celestia started, then stopped, "did you hear that?"

"I thought I heard something," Sunset said as she turned. The two ponies backed against each other. "Who goes there?!" Celestia shouted, "speak now, or I swear, I will attack! I will defend this palace with my life!"

Suddenly, a cooing sound was heard. "Come on, sweetie," the voice said, "it's OK. Auntie Celestia won't hurt you. You know that." As the sweet sounds of the voice sang through the room, three ponies entered. Celestia gasped, smiled, and ran to them. She embraced each one and picked the smallest one up.

Sunset didn't know these ponies. The one Celestia held in her hooves was a filly. She looked as if she were starving. Celestia gave her a concerned look, then turned to who Sunset assumed were her parents. She gave them the same look, which they returned. Then Celestia turned to Sunset. "Sunset," she said, "I want you to meet my adopted niece Princess Cadance, her husband Prince Shining Armor, and their daughter Princess Flurry Heart."


	5. Off To Dashopolis!

"This is Sunset Shimmer," Celestia said, "I've asked her to come and help us in these troubling times." Sunset looked distraught at the young filly. "She looks as if she hasn't eaten in a while," she said sadly. Cadance nodded weakly. She, too, looked emaciated. "None of us have eaten in quite some time. My sister-in-law kept us imprisoned and gave us hardly any food or water. I think the last time my husband and I ate was four days ago, and the last time our little Flurry ate was three days ago."

Sunset moved forward and got down on Flurry's level. The little filly tried to stand up, but when she did, her weakened legs gave out from under her and she plopped down on her stomach. "Oh…" she moaned, "mommy, I'm so hungry…"

"I know, Flurry," Cadance said lovingly as she smiled down at her daughter, "and we're gonna do our best to get you something to eat. Don't worry." She turned to Celestia, "please, you must have something here in the palace."

Celestia shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid my royal stores are running very low. I just hope there's enough in there to feed Flurry Heart."

"Auntie Celestia?" The little filly squeaked weakly. "Yes, dear?" Celestia responded. "I'm so hungry, but I know my mommy and daddy are hungry too. If there is food, please, let them have it."

Celestia, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Sunset all shared a look of amazement at the compassion shown by this young filly. Even though she was, quite literally, starving to death, she wanted her parents to be fed before she was. Her mother's eyes filled with tears and she bent down and hugged her daughter.

"What's that for, mommy? Why are you crying?"

"These are happy tears, sweetheart," Cadance said as she wiped them away, "I'm happy because I have the sweetest, most wonderful daughter in the whole world. A daughter who would be willing to give up her own meal in order to feed somepony else. I'm very happy that you have such a kind heart, Flurry. But, while I appreciate your offer, I'm afraid you need it more than we do. You're still growing up. Your father and I are full grown and we have more strength than you. You need to be fed, Flurry."

Flurry nodded weakly as she tried to stand. But her legs once again gave way and she collapsed back to the floor. Her breathing became tepid as her small chest rose and fell periodically. Her eyes closed and she looked to be dying. Cadance went into overdrive. "Celestia, she needs food, now!" She said sharply. Celestia nodded and raced out of the room towards the royal storehouse.

After a few minutes, the princess returned with two loaves of bread. "This is all that was left in there," she said sadly. Sunset took one of the loaves and set it down in front of Flurry Heart before looking up at Cadance. The pretty Alicorn nodded and Sunset leaned over and whispered in Flurry's ear, "Flurry Heart. My name is Sunset Shimmer, and I'm a good friend of your Auntie Celestia's. There's a loaf of bread in front of you. You need to eat it…please."

She backed away and looked for some form of a response from the young one. Suddenly, Flurry's eyes began opening. She groaned a bit and scooted forward. Then she slowly began eating the loaf. "Oh," she said as her eyes filled with tears, "it tastes so good…" She began eating it a little quicker, but her mother stopped her. "Flurry, darling, don't eat it too quickly. You'll give yourself a stomachache."

"OK, mommy," the filly responded. Sunset could tell that she had a little more strength and color was beginning to flush her cheeks. She ate about half of the loaf before slowly scooting it over to her father. "Here, daddy," she said, "you and mommy have some."

Shining Armor scooted it back to her, "no, sweetie," he said, "you need this more than we do. Plus, there's another entire loaf that we can eat." So Flurry took the loaf back and slowly took another bite, gushing about how good it was.

"Man, Twilight must not have given you guys anything substantial in prison," Sunset quipped. Cadance shook her head. "She didn't," the princess said, "she only gave us one loaf of bread to share every three days and barely any water. She would also whip us when we asked her for more or for some manner of comfort. I never, ever thought I would see my precious Twilight behave this way."

"Your precious Twilight?" Sunset asked

Cadance chuckled, "I forgot that you don't know us very well. You see, I used to foal sit Twilight when she was a filly. So she's always been very precious to me. Even now, seeing what a monster and a raging pony demon she's turned into, she's still incredibly precious to me. She and I share a bond, and no matter what she does, that bond will never be broken. That's what true friendship is."

Sunset smiled as she thought of her own bond with Princess Twilight. She realized that what Cadance was saying was absolutely true. Twilight might have turned into something completely horrible, but Sunset was willing to fight and, if necessary, die for their friendship. It was what the old Twilight would have wanted, and Sunset was going to scratch and claw until she brought back the old Twilight. Equestria deserved it, Celestia deserved it, and this young family deserved it.

"Look," she said, "it's not safe for you to stay here. We need to get you somewhere where Twilight and her guards can't get to you. She's sent out a search party, and she wants you dead."

"How do you know that?" Shining Armor asked, "for that matter, where did you come from?"

"I came from an alternate dimension populated by human versions of the ponies in Equestria. The portal dropped me right in the middle of Twilight's castle and I hid around the corner from her when she decreed your demise. Then she and one of the guards went off to, shall we say, have some fun with each other and I ran out the front door."

Shining Armor's mouth fell wide open. He couldn't believe that there could be another world besides Equestria. He just had one question, and he asked it. "What's a human?"

"I'll explain later. Look, maybe if we can get Twilight and Rainbow Dash together, they'll be diplomatic and talk it out maturely."

"Right," Shining Armor said sarcastically, "and I'm gonna turn into a princess tomorrow."

"Shining Armor!" Cadance scolded, "be nice! After all, she's here to help us. Besides, Celestia wouldn't have sent for her if she didn't know what she was doing."

"No, Cadance," Sunset said, "I think Shining Armor has a point. It is gonna be incredibly difficult to get the two of them to be diplomatic on anything. But, for my money, it's worth a try."

"You won't get my sister to be diplomatic when she's on a soapbox like this," Shining Armor said, "she's a stubborn one."

"She may be stubborn," Sunset said, "but my human friends Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle are exactly the same way and, if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that if Dash and Twilight are in the same room and have some time to think about what they really mean to each other, then they'll forget about this devastating war and return to the way things were."

"I'm in agreement, Sunset Shimmer," Celestia said, "but I would highly advise going to Dashopolis first. Rainbow Dash hasn't been known to kill many ponies, so I would say that going there would be the best option."

Sunset nodded. "OK, then, I'll go…and I think that these three should go with me." She pointed at Shining Armor and his family. "Oh," Cadance said nervously, "do you think we're ready for such a long journey? I mean, Flurry Heart just had her first bite in three days and we're all fairly weak right now." "Don't worry," Sunset said, "we'll take the night and tomorrow to rest up and then we'll leave."

She smiled at the princess, who smiled right back. Even through the bruises and numerous scars she now carried, she could see why Shining Armor had fallen in love with her. She was very pretty, with eyes that danced and a mane that flowed. Her sweet voice exuded a very sweet personality. However, she seemed to be level headed and mature even though she was so sweet. She was no airhead, that was for sure.

They all slept in Celestia's room that night, for it was the only room in the palace with some semblance of a roof on it. Luckily they did, for that night the black smoke that emanated from the many forest fires in Equestria found its way into the palace. Flurry Heart woke up choking and the ponies all ran from the room.

"Come on!" Celestia said, "we can go to my underground bunker!" 

"Since when do you have an underground bunker?!" Cadance yelled.

"Since 1,000 years ago! I've just never had reason to use it! Now, come on!"

They ran to the shelter and hunkered down inside of it. "There," Celestia said, "smoke can't penetrate solid earth."

"But how long will we be able to breathe in here?" Cadance asked worriedly

"Don't worry," Celestia said, "there's enough air in here to last us for a while. In a few hours, we'll climb out and see what the smoke situation is."

So they slept for the rest of the night and in the morning, Shining Armor ascended the small ladder in the bunker and peered out of the top. He saw that the smoke had drifted the other way, pulled by the wind. "It's OK, everypony," he said, "the smoke's cleared out." So Celestia, Sunset, and Cadance came out. "Daddy," Flurry Heart said softly, "I don't think I can climb this."

"OK, sweetheart," her father said, "I'll get you." He did so and climbed back out, with Flurry clinging to his back. "That was scary, mommy," she said, referring to the entire ordeal. Then she began to cry. "I don't like smoke!" She wailed. Her mother caressed her and brought her close. "It's OK, sweetie," she said, "it's all over now. Don't cry, my love." Flurry sniffed and looked up at her mother. Cadance smiled down at her, and Flurry reflected the gesture.

For the next few hours, the three emaciated ponies took time to rest and gather their strength. Meanwhile, Sunset roamed the ruins of Canterlot, searching for some kind of food. She managed to grab a few more loaves of bread from the old bakery, as they had been kept in boxes that hadn't been destroyed.

She returned with them and gave them to the young family, who happily accepted them. Flurry Heart was gaining strength as her little mouth chewed quicker and her breathing seemed to be normalizing. Her parents were very grateful and quietly ate their loaves. When they had finished, they stood up and walked over to where Sunset was chowing down on a loaf of her own.

"Alright, Sunset," Cadance said, "I think we're ready to go."

Sunset nodded, finishing her last bite of bread. "Alright, then," she said, "let's be off."

So the four of them waved goodbye to Princess Celestia, who wished them all good luck and warned them to be careful on their journey, and set out for Dashopolis. Sunset was incredibly nervous. She had never done anything like this before, and she knew it would take them days to get there on hoof. She remembered seeing an old map of Equestria and she knew that the former Crystal Empire was way up in the northern part of the country. But she had to make it there. The fate of Equestria, the fate of the young family with her, and the fate of her friendship with Twilight rested on them making it to their destination.


	6. Struggles and Surprises

The four ponies struggled up the steep embankment. The past two days on hoof had been extremely difficult, even with the renewed strength and confidence of Shining Armor's family. Food had been very hard to come by, which only compounded their dire situation. Sunset found herself helping them climb every hill and cross every stream. But, truth be told, she didn't mind in the least. After all, there was nothing she wouldn't do for her friends, and these ponies were the newest additions to that group.

Little Flurry Heart was having the toughest time. She would trot for a few steps and then need to stop for a while. Sunset would encourage her by telling her they were going to her old home. "Don't worry," Sunset reassured the young filly, "we'll be there soon." Flurry would always squeak out a question about the exact timing of their arrival. Unfortunately, Sunset had no idea when they would be there, nor what to expect when they got there.

This particular embankment was one of the steepest in all Equestria. This fact was completely unknown by the four travelers, as they pushed themselves to the limit climbing. Sunset was trying to be as encouraging as possible, but even she knew that every pony had his own breaking point, and it seemed as if her three companions were reaching theirs.

Cadance stopped and sat down, out of breath. "Sunset," she said, "I can't do this. I'm so weak. Even with the food we ate back in Canterlot, and what we've eaten out here, I feel as though my hooves are made of tree trunks."

Sunset stopped and turned to the princess. "Listen, Cadance," she said, "I know you're feeling down right now, but we've got to press on if we're gonna make it to The Crystal Empire." Sunset had begun refusing to use the city's new name, because she knew that it was a complete and utter fabrication. "If we don't make it there, Rainbow Dash and her cronies are gonna rule it forever. We've got to stop her. We've got to make her see that her friendship with Twilight still means something."

"I know, Sunset!" The princess said sharply, using a tone of voice that she had not meant to. She saw Sunset shrink away and realized that she had spoken rather rudely. "I'm sorry, Sunset," she said softly, "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just so tired, and it's getting late. Flurry Heart needs her rest." She pointed to the filly, who had taken to riding on her mother's back some time before.

Sunset nodded and noticed that the sun was going down. "You're right," she said, "but we need to get to the top of this hill before we make camp. If we stay here on this steep slope, a lot of bad things are liable to happen." The princess nodded and the group pressed on up the hill. By this point, even Sunset's hooves were beginning to feel as if her hooves were made out of compressed lead. She stumbled a bit and Shining Armor raced forward to catch her. "I've got you," he said. Sunset blushed a bit at being helped by the prince, but then shook her head and cleared her mind.

Eventually, they made it to the top of the hill where they set up the makeshift tents they had built out of tree limbs, pine sap, and leaves on their first night out. Obviously, there were no tent building materials in Canterlot, so they had to make do with what they found in the forest. Once the tents had been erected, Shining Armor and Sunset worked together to build a small fire, taking great care to keep it contained, lest it should add to the already acrid air and burning nature of the woods. They had chosen a path away from the heat of the fires, but with Cloudsdale unwilling to create rain anymore, the forest was dry as a bone. Their little fire could spring up into something massive if they weren't careful.

Once they finished building the fire, they all sat around it, breathless from the day's journey. Flurry Heart was asleep on her mother's back within an instant, and Cadance took her to their tent and gently laid her there. Sunset thought she heard her sing a lullaby to her daughter. When Cadance returned and sat next to her husband, Sunset's inquisitive mind went to work.

"Cadance?" She asked.

"Yes, Sunset?" The princess responded.

"Were you singing a lullaby to Flurry?"

Cadance smiled and nodded, "yes, I was. It's an old Crystal Empire lullaby that crystal ponies use to sing their offspring to sleep. It's rather beautiful. It's sung in the old Crystalline language."

"How does it go?"

"Well, it goes like this:

_Slumferine don merkolas_

_Triniste mon sonokas_

_Slumferine en pascholacas_

_Drue nomfa makane escholacas"_

Sunset's eyes widened and her heart grew as the princess sang the sweet song. She felt the love that Cadance had for her daughter. She felt the gentility of a mother as her song swept her daughter away into the dream realm. As she listened, memories of both her Equestrian mother and the mother that had adopted her as a teenager in the human world flooded her mind. She wondered what had happened to her human mother when her friends told her about returning to Equestria.

She remembered the very first time she told her mother who she really was, and why she had no living parents in the human world. She had given her a very shocked look and thought that she was telling a ridiculous fantasy story, but when the reports came out on the news of the raging she-demon and her army of teenage zombies, her mother stopped laughing and started believing.

"That was beautiful," she told Cadance as she wiped a tear or two away, "what does it mean?"

"It means:

Sleep for your troubles are far away

My love for you will keep them gone

Sleep in peace, oh, my little one

For tomorrow breaks a brand new dawn."

Sunset couldn't help but shed some more tears. The love that Shining Armor and Cadance had for their daughter was palpable. Her own mother had the same type of love for her. Unfortunately, she had thrown that love away in a ruthless quest to be the greatest unicorn in Equestrian history. She had brutalized her friends and made many enemies. Now, she just wanted the chance to be forgiven. She wanted to know that her old Equestrian friends were alright and she wanted to apologize to them for everything she had ever done to them.

"Cadance, that was…" Sunset began, then stopped. A twig snapped deep in the woods. "Did you all hear that?" She asked. Shining Armor stood to his hooves and looked around. "I thought I heard something, but I'm not sure," he said, "all the same, I'm gonna go have a look around." With that, he disappeared into the woods, using his horn's light to guide him.

"Oh…" Cadance said, "I sure hope he doesn't find anything."

"It's alright, Cadance," Sunset said, "it was probably just a small animal."

The two mares sat together for a few minutes before a cry pierced the night. "WHO GOES THERE?!" The two mares gasped. "That's Shining Armor!" Cadance cried, "oh, what are we gonna do?! What are we gonna do?!"

"Be calm, Princess," Sunset said, "just be calm." Cadance nodded and took a deep breath, calming her nerves.

Suddenly, out from the bushes came Shining Armor, dragging something along with him. It was a pony. A mare, to be exact. Sunset thought she recognized this particular mare, but couldn't quite put her hoof on it. That was until she started to speak. "Would y'all kindly let go'a my mane?!" She growled in a slow, country drawl, "I swear, you're gettin' rougher than a prickly porcupine on a bad day! Now, let go'a me I say!" Sunset smiled. She'd know that accent anywhere. It was Applejack.


	7. Applejack

"Applejack!" Sunset said suddenly, "what are you doing here?" The other pony turned and gave her a curious look. There was a look in her eyes that Sunset couldn't quite place. She couldn't tell if Applejack was there to be friendly, or there to kill them all on behalf of Rainbow Dash. Her smile at the recognition of just who this was quickly faded as she realized the apparent danger that they could all be in.

"Um, sorry," Applejack said, "but…do I know ya? I mean, I don't think I've ever seen ya before…and I've seen a lot of ponies."

Sunset saw an opportunity to capitalize on Applejack's apparent neutrality, so she spoke with care, yet made sure to add determination and a little defiance in her tone. "My name is Sunset Shimmer," she said, "and Princess Celestia sent for me to help fix this friendship problem that's destroying all Equestria."

"Oh," Applejack said, "you're Twilight's friend from the human world!"

"Yep, that's me," Sunset said.

Applejack smiled. "Well, it's mighty nice to meet ya, Sunset!" She stepped forward and Sunset offered a hoof. She shook it, and Sunset realized just how strong Applejack was. If she was there to kill them, it would be a very painful experience. Then again, if she was there to kill them, she was doing a great job of hiding it. So Sunset decided to probe a bit and see if she would tip off that she had an ulterior motive for being there.

"So…Applejack," Sunset said, "I'm a little surprised to hear you speak so well of Twilight. Celestia told me that you were on Rainbow Dash's side."

Applejack's smile faded and she sat back on her haunches. The look in her eyes went from joy to pain in a split second. The palpability of the emotional change was so huge that it nearly knocked Sunset right off her hooves. It felt as if she were moving within the depths of Applejack's soul, only to have that soul break down and disintegrate in front of her.

Applejack sighed. "I was on Dash's side," she said, "in fact, I was one of the generals in her army. I led the attack on Canterlot. I imprisoned Princess Luna. I remember killing pony after pony in Canterlot." She stopped and shivered. "They all begged me for their lives, but my mind wasn't in the right place. I was angrier than a pack of hornets on apple buckin' day. I had no mercy for them."

Sunset's mouth fell open as she imagined her human friend Applejack killing the people she knew. Thankfully, she couldn't picture her doing something so terrible. The orange pony took a deep breath and continued, "I'll never forget the sound of the bones in their faces crunching under the weight of my hooves. It haunts my days and it plagues my nights. I have constant nightmares about that attack, and about how innocent Canterlot ponies were killed in the midst of our fight with Twilight's army."

She stopped and shed some tears. "They say I cry on the inside," she said, "but that ain't always true. I remember the day of that shoutin' match between the six of us. I don't even remember what we were shoutin' about, but what I do remember is what I said to Twilight. I thought Rainbow Dash had the best idea of whatever it was we were fightin' about, so I told Twilight that she was nothin' more than a Canterlot prissy rich horse princess wannabe who had terrible ideas. She nearly tore my face off. I found out that day that Twilight is excellent at hoof-to-hoof combat."

She paused and collected her thoughts then continued, "I just came from Dashopolis. I'm no longer in favor of Rainbow Dash bein' the Queen of Equestria. Matter of fact, I'd give anything for things to go back to the way they were with Celestia and Luna in charge. I just can't take Dash's arrogance and disloyalty anymore."

"Wait a minute," Sunset said, "Rainbow Dash is disloyal? My human friend Rainbow Dash is the most loyal person I know!"

"Seems totally ironic, don't it?" Applejack asked as a thoughtful smile returned to her face, "yeah, when the chips are down, Dash will throw anypony under the cart just to advance her causes and her agenda. I got tired of that, and I got tired of her constantly sendin' me out to kill the ponies who disagreed with her. They weren't doin' anything wrong. They just had a different outlook on things. Oh, why did I kill them?! WHY?! CELESTIA SHOULD THROW ME IN TARTARUS! I'M AN AWFUL PONY!"

Here, Applejack broke down crying and wouldn't stop. She held her face in her hooves and cried about how awful she was and about how Celestia should punish her forever and about how Equestria would be better off if she were dead and this and that and the other thing. Cadance stepped forward and ran a comforting hoof through her mane. "Applejack," she said softly, "Equestria would not be better off without you. Yes, you did some horrible things on Rainbow Dash's behalf, and I do not condone them at all. Yes, I think it would be proper for Celestia to give you a punishment. But, in the end, who sent you to do them? Rainbow Dash did. She probably would have killed you if you hadn't done those things."

Applejack nodded, "she did threaten me…a lot. But all the same, I should've stood up for what was right. I should've been…well…me! I'm no killer! I'm just an apple farmer!"

"Sometimes even apple farmers can become killers," Shining Armor said. Cadance gave him a look. "Shining Armor, we're trying to cheer her up, not make her feel worse!"

"Sorry, baby, but it's the truth," Shining Armor said, "she did awful things. I'm just glad she's showing some type of remorse."

Applejack looked up at the prince and nodded. "I hate what I did. I hate it more than anything. What I did was despicable and completely unforgivable. If y'all just wanna toss me in the woods for the timber wolves to devour, I wouldn't blame ya one bit."

Sunset shook her head. "No, Applejack," she said, "we're not gonna leave you here in the woods. If you'll come with us, we may need you in Dashopolis."

"I can't go back there!" Applejack shouted, "Rainbow Dash would kill me on sight!"

"You're not going back alone," Cadance said, "you'll have us."

"And we'll protect you if need be," Shining Armor said, smiling. Applejack gave him a funny look. "I thought you hated me," she said. "I don't," Shining Armor replied, "I hate what you did, but I can tell that you understand that what you did was wrong and now you're willing to do whatever it takes to make up for it. I also love how honest you are with yourself and with us. You aren't hiding anything. To me, that's what friendship is."

When Shining Armor said that, Sunset thought she saw magic emanate from somewhere and blow a hole in one of the black clouds, revealing the bluest sky overhead. _Wait a minute, _she said to herself, and then suddenly yelled, "the Elements of Harmony!"

"What was that, Sunset?" Cadance asked.

"The Elements of Harmony! I think that, in order to reform friendship in Equestria, we need to find all six of the representatives of the Elements of Harmony and make them see how important their friendship is to each other! Shining Armor, when you were talking about how honest and remorseful Applejack was, something happened. There was this magic burst that I saw that blew a hole in the dark clouds. Now, look!"

They all turned and saw the sky and the sun shining through. It warmed their coats and their hearts, and they suddenly had renewed strength for the journey ahead. Sunset turned to Applejack. "Now I know we'll need you in Dashopolis. Please come with us, Applejack," she said, smiling. Her eyes practically begged the honest pony to come with them. Applejack fretted around a bit before turning back to Sunset. "Alright," she said, "I'll go."

"Thank you," Sunset said simply, "someday, all of Equestria may be in your debt. Now, we have to get to Dashopolis and find Rainbow Dash. Maybe we can talk her out of this. But, first," she stopped and yawned, "I need some sleep."

The other ponies agreed and they all went to bed. Applejack shared Sunset's tent, grateful for the covering after sleeping in caves since she left Dashopolis. However, she just couldn't sleep. She was so nervous about returning to Dash's court. Dash was the ruler of Dashopolis and she let everypony know it with her words and with her violent actions. Her tomboyish nature only added to her unnerving ways and it scared the living daylights out of Applejack. _Oh, please, _she said in a silent plea to no one in particular, _please don't let her kill me._


	8. Dashopolis

The next morning, they all got up and resumed their journey to Dashopolis. They were all nervous at the thought of seeing somepony who they truly considered a friend in such an evil state, but they pressed on. Applejack, in particular, was frightened at the thought of being punished for abandoning Rainbow Dash's cause. All the rest of the way there, she found herself second guessing her decision. _Maybe I shouldn't have left, _she thought, _oh, Dash is gonna be angrier than Big Mac when Apple Bloom took the last piece of pie! Oh, Celestia, I'm scared! _But she put on a brave front in front of the others. She certainly didn't want them thinking she was so tentative about things.

After a full day's walk, they arrived back at the former Crystal Empire. Shining Armor, Cadance, and Flurry Heart all gasped in unison as they walked into their beloved home. Everything was different. The Crystal Ponies had lost their luster, and now roamed the streets as zombies. It certainly looked no different than when King Sombra had unleashed his evil power over the Empire. The inhabitants looked tired and sad. They went about their business with an extremely pessimistic look in their eyes. The melancholy in the place thickened the air and both Shining Armor and Cadance thought they would choke on it.

"So…this is Dashopolis," Sunset said, "pretty grim. I expected a place run by Rainbow Dash to be a lot more…colorful."

Cadance nodded, "everything's just so gray and dingy. There's no light and no love here. I don't even think there's anger or frustration. Just an air of dull acceptance." She stopped and wiped some tears away as she recognized some of the places she used to frequent. "There's the old marketplace," she said, pointing a hoof at some grey stalls full of grey ponies selling grey looking food.

Sunset looked concerned. "That's the marketplace?" She asked. Cadance nodded. "I sure wouldn't wanna buy anything from there," Sunset remarked. Cadance could only nod in agreement once again. Her once happy home had been rendered into a grey pile of mush. She felt like crying then and there, but she didn't for her family's sake. She wanted to remain strong for Shining Armor and little Flurry Heart.

Her daughter looked around from her perch on her mother's back. "Mommy?" She asked, "what happened to the book store?" She pointed her small hoof towards a building with a broken sign and smashed windows. The place looked completely deserted, as did most of the former businesses in town. In fact, the old marketplace and the old bank seemed to be the only places doing any sort of business, and even then it didn't appear to be anything more than the same dull thing.

"We've got to find out what the hay's going on here," Shining Armor said. Suddenly, three ponies ran up to them in excitement. Their smiles were radiant as they greeted Shining Armor and Cadance with the term "your highness." Cadance smiled as well as she recognized Glow Heart, Winter Snow, and Warm Light, three of her former advisors and friends at the Crystal Empire palace.

"It's wonderful to see you three!" She said as she hugged each one of them in turn.

"Your Highness," Glow Heart said happily, "thank you so much for returning! Maybe you can put a stop to all this. Queen Dash has gone insane!"

"You can say that again," Applejack said coldly. Glow Heart recognized the orange pony and shrank away. "You…you aren't gonna hurt me, are you General Applejack?"

"Of course I ain't!" Applejack said in a tone that she didn't mean to use. Glow Heart shrank away even more and shook nervously. Applejack realized her mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry, miss," she said honestly, "truly, I am. I'm just so nervous about returnin' here and seein' Dash again." She stepped forward and offered a hoof to Glow Heart. The formerly yellow pony took it and shook it kindly.

"Now, then," Applejack said, "maybe we can start off on a friendlier hoof. I'm Applejack. There's none of that general stuff no more. I'm just a friendly apple farmer."

Glow Heart smiled. "I'm Glow Heart," she said, "and I'm a friendly former book seller."

Flurry Heart's face fell. "Ms. Glow Heart?" She asked.

"Yes, Your Highness?" Glow Heart said, smiling at how much Flurry had grown since she had last seen her.

"What happened to your book store?" Flurry inquired, remembering the times her mother would take her there and get her books about Crystalline legends. Glow Heart's face fell as well and she looked completely distraught. Cadance thought she would begin weeping, but she didn't. She just looked completely empty, and Cadance thought that was worse than seeing her cry.

"Well, Flurry, dear" Glow Heart said, speaking on an equal level with the young princess, "it was taken away from me by Rainbow Dash. See, we're not allowed to operate private businesses here. Dash controls everything and she taxes all of us to death." Flurry gave her a confused look, so she simplified things. "You see, Flurry, I'm not allowed to sell books anymore. The only pony in the entire town who can sell them is Rainbow Dash because she's in charge of everything. Every month, we have to give her a lot of money or she'll come and take us and throw us in jail."

"But that's not fair!" Flurry protested

"I know it's not," Glow Heart said as she patted the young filly on her head, "but it's the way things are, and nopony has the courage to stand up to Rainbow Dash."

Shining Armor stepped forward. "Rainbow Dash had the audacity to take over our home, kill our friends, make our other friends into monsters, and now she's turned a once colorful celebration of individuality and friendship into a grey monstrosity full of heavy taxation and collectivism. I think it's time somepony got under her coat a bit. Glow Heart, Winter Snow, Warm Light, will you three help us?"

The three ponies bowed in respect to the prince. "Of course, Prince Shining Armor," Winter Snow said, "we'd be honored to. I just can't wait to start up my flower shop again!"

"And I'd like to resume selling my pottery," Warm Light said.

"Oh!" Cadance suddenly said, "I remember all of your wonderful craftsmanship. I'd love to see you sell them again! That was your life!"

"And it was taken away from me…thanks to Rainbow Dash and all of her efforts of centralization on 'behalf of the common pony.' I don't think she knows what it is do be a common pony!"

"Either that, or she's forgotten," Sunset said, walking towards the palace a bit. Then she whirled around and faced the three additions to their group. "We do have an ulterior motive for being here."

"Go on," Glow Heart said

"We're trying to get Princess Luna out of prison. If Rainbow Dash won't play nice, then we'll just have to bust her out."

The three mares nodded. "We'll do anything we can to help you," Glow Heart said, "We've got to make Dash see that her ways are killing our home and our lives. We just want things to go back to the way they were."

"Alright, then," Sunset said, "let's do it."

So they all trotted off towards the palace. As they neared it, more and more ponies recognized the princess and her family. They gathered around her, but kept quiet as Shining Armor and Cadance commanded them to. The prince and princess smiled, grateful for the loyalty of their former subjects. However, Cadance did have one nagging question, which she posed to Glow Heart. "I thought we ordered everypony to scatter. So, what's everyone doing back here?"

"We just couldn't leave our homes," she said, "after a few days of being gone, we slowly crept back in. Unfortunately, we didn't realize what we were sinking our hooves into and we got caught in quicksand, so to speak."

Cadance nodded and then put her hoof out. The entire procession halted in front of the doors of the Crystal Palace. It was the only colorful thing in the town. In striking contrast to the dull greys around them, the palace was lit up with every color of the rainbow. _What a narcissist, _Sunset thought to herself about Dash, _even the human Dash wouldn't be so self-celebratory. _

"RAINBOW DASH!" Cadance suddenly yelled, using her royal voice, "THIS IS PRINCESS CADANCE, ALONG WITH PRINCE SHINING ARMOR! AS A PRINCESS OF EQUESTRIA, I AM ORDERING YOU TO COME OUT HERE AND FACE US! I AM ALSO ORDERING THE RELEASE OF PRINCESS LUNA, AND I AM PLACING YOU UNDER ARREST FOR TREASON!"

"Well, that was subtle," Sunset muttered.

"Sorry," Cadance said to her, "but I have to make her see that Shining Armor and I rule this land, not her."

Suddenly, the doors flew open and two guards escorted a certain blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane out. "WHO DARES TO ORDER QUEEN DASH AROUND?!" She shouted angrily. Everypony knew the voice all too well. There, adorned in a rainbow colored gown and wearing Cadance's old crown, was Rainbow Dash.


	9. Diplomacy and Violence

Rainbow Dash stepped forward and laughed heartily. Normally, laughs like this would have lent themselves to the rest of the group and soon everyone would be laughing. Unfortunately, they couldn't miss the chill laced within Rainbow's voice. "You?" She scoffed at Cadance, "you peasant! You dare to order me, the Queen of Equestria, around?!"

"How dare you!" Cadance barked, "you aren't the Queen of Equestria! Nopony is! You know how it is!"

"Ah-ah-ah," Dash said snidely, waving a sarcastic hoof around, "that's how it WAS. Now, it's me, and only me. Why? Because I'm awesome and I deserve it, that's why!"

Sunset recoiled at just how arrogant Rainbow Dash was, and she realized with a sudden horror how reflective it was of the human Dash. She knew she was confident, but there was a difference between confidence and belief in yourself, and downright cocky arrogance. She felt like she was dealing with a spoiled brat. Unfortunately, that "spoiled brat" wasn't finished speaking.

"I attacked the former Crystal Empire! I turned it into Dashopolis! ME! ME, ME, ME, ME!"

Cadance gave her an angry look. "I don't know how you live with yourself, Rainbow Dash! I also don't know how you control these ponies. Anypony would've grown sick and tired of your arrogance by now and stood up against you! I just don't know how you do it!"

"Because I can kill them and they know it!"

Cadance stopped and backed up a bit, realizing just how close Dash's guards were to her. They were all unicorns with sharpened horns, ready for battle. She noticed that more than a few carried literal scars of the past. They looked fierce and hardened and she immediately surrounded Flurry, wanting to protect her in case things got worse.

The tension grew for a few seconds as neither of the two parties said anything. Sunset could barely take it. She knew that, at any second, this could break out into violence and bloodshed. She didn't want that, but she knew she would fight as hard as anypony to protect Equestria and her friends.

She stepped forward slowly. "Rainbow Dash…" She began, but then was stopped by a hoof in her face. "Do I know you?" Dash asked, "I mean, it's obvious you know me. What pony doesn't know me?! But I'm afraid I don't know you."

"My name is Sunset Shimmer…"

"Oh! You mean that yellow peon that Twilight was always going on about?! Ugh! Twilight never SHUT HER MUZZLE about you! She always talked about how awesome you were and about the amazing adventures she had with you in the human world." She stopped and spat at Sunset's hooves, "I don't give two horse craps about you or your stupid world! If you're here to try and overthrow me, then be prepared to get physical! I'll kill you and then you'll never get to return to your precious high school!"

The Crystal Ponies gasped and Sunset blushed a bit. She had forgotten that she was merely a visitor in Equestria. The villagers had no idea where she came from, so it must have come as a complete shock to learn that the pony who had been tasked with saving them from a dictatorial tyranny wasn't really a pony at all. But she had more important matters to attend to. So she turned back to the seething Pegasus.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Rainbow Dash," she said, "but I am here to make the lives of these ponies better. You've destroyed friendships in your quest for power…"

"FRIENDSHIPS MAKE PONIES WEAK!" Rainbow Dash screamed, "THEY'RE FOR WORTHLESS DUNCES LIKE YOU AND LITTLE TINY FOALS!"

"That's not true," Sunset said determinedly, "and you know it. You used to teach at the School of Friendship, for Celestia's sake!"

Dash gasped and stepped forward to stand nose to nose with Sunset. "What name did you just say?"

"Celestia," Sunset replied simply. Dash's anger boiled over and Sunset swore she saw smoke pouring out of her ears. Dash shook with rage and the veins in her neck bulged out. When she spoke, her voice was low and almost demonic in a way. "Don't…ever…say…that…name IN MY PRESENCE!"

She finished with a shriek and launched herself onto Sunset, all the pain and anger from her past finally boiling over. The other ponies looked on in horror as they fought. Dash bit down on Sunset's leg and Sunset howled as blood welled up from the fresh wound. Sunset whirled around in defense and chomped on Dash's shoulder. Dash opened her jaws wide in a cry of pain and promptly left two hoof prints on Sunset's nose.

The two mares battled each other for a few moments before Shining Armor intervened. He tried to pull them apart, but as soon as he touched Dash, her guards came after him. Suddenly, Shining Armor found himself pitted tooth, hoof, and horn against them. Cadance used her magic to knock out some of the guards, and Shining Armor stabbed a couple in the leg with his horn.

Then, a great yell was heard. The fighting ponies looked up and saw every member of the village charging against them. Dash screamed, "ATTACK," and more guards came racing out of the palace. Soon, the entire village was fighting. Sunset had her hooves on Dash and pinned her down, trying desperately to talk to her. This was the exact opposite of what she had wanted. She wanted there to be a peaceful resolution, but Dash wasn't cooperating.

"Dash!" Sunset yelled, "you have to stop this senseless violence!"

Dash's response was a stream of pony related curse words. Each insult stung Sunset more than the last one. But then, Dash went too far. "I KNOW WHERE YOU CAME FROM!" She suddenly yelled. Evil emanated from every word she said, and she spat on Sunset, "YOU CAME FROM THE MOST DIRT POOR FAMILY IN CANTERLOT! YOU WERE ABUSED AS A FOAL BY YOUR GRANDPARENTS! I KNOW THAT! I KNOW ALL ABOUT YOU, SUNSET SHIMMER! I DID MY RESEARCH!"

"HOW DARE YOU! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T KNOW ME!" Sunset screamed as her anger took ahold of her. "I DID," Dash shouted back, "BUT I'M NOT EXACTLY HONEST APPLEJACK, NOW AM I?!" Sunset let loose a scream of pure anger and bit down on Dash's ear and pulled as Dash howled in agony. She tried to make her scream "uncle." "SAY IT," Sunset shrieked, "SAY IT, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH! SAY IT! SAY IT!"

"NEVER!" Dash screamed as she whirled around on Sunset. The two mares fought until Dash found herself on top. She went for a death bite to Sunset's neck, but Sunset dodged it and Dash's teeth met the dirt in an agonizing jar that broke two of them. She got back up and launched right back onto Sunset.

Sunset tore through Dash's coat with her hooves, leaving blood as she went. Dash used her wings, which Sunset realized were tipped with barbs, to do the same thing. The two mares scratched and clawed until both of their coats were stained red with a mixture of both their own blood and the blood of their opponent.

Sunset stood to her hooves, gasping for air, as the fighting raged around her. She gasped as she looked at Rainbow Dash, who struggled to get back up. She realized that this was no way to restore friendship in Equestria. She stepped forward and helped Dash up. "I…I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash," she said. Dash gave her a murderous look. "Well, I'm not!"

She leapt back at Sunset, but Sunset moved aside and Dash ate the dirt once again. "Dash, this isn't the way!" Sunset said urgently, "call off your army! Please!"

"NO!" Dash yelled, "I won't stop until all of you 'friendly' ponies are dead and gone! This realm is MINE, and nopony except me, especially not that worthless excuse of a friend, Twilight Sparkle, is gonna rule it! Sunset Shimmer…I am going to kill you and you aren't gonna stop me!"

She leapt at Sunset again, but once again Sunset dodged it. "It doesn't have to be like this, Dash," she said desperately as she began to feel dizzy from losing so much blood, "if you and Twilight would just meet and settle your differences, things could go back to the way they were!"

"Why can't you just accept this change, Sunset?! For that matter, why do you care?! You're not even from here! YOU'RE WORTHLESS!"

Sunset backed away a bit. The insults had all stung, but Dash telling her that took her back to her days as a bullied foal. She wasn't the greatest at magic, and she had always been told by her peers that she would never amount to anything. That coupled with the familial abuse she experienced had driven her to commit the evils against Equestria and Celestia that she did. She had taken to learning magic and had gotten very good at it. She got so good at it that Celestia asked her to be her protege. The rest, as they say, is Equestrian history.

By this time, the other ponies had stopped fighting and were listening intently to this exchange. Shining Armor was covered with wounds and Cadance had a few of her own. Sunset prepared to reply to Rainbow Dash, but then noticed that somepony was missing. "Where's Applejack?" She asked Shining Armor.

"I don't know," he said breathlessly, "she was fighting alongside me, but I lost her."

The other ponies showed tremendous concern as they went around the battlefield looking for her. While they looked, Cadance used her magic to help heal Sunset and her husband. To Sunset's surprise, Dash didn't stop the ponies from looking for Applejack. Dash appeared to be amazed at the concern they were showing for a pony who, mere days before, had been slaughtering them on her command. She put her head down a bit.

Suddenly, a scream was heard. It was Glow Heart, who was also covered in scratches from the battle. "Princess Cadance! Sunset!" She yelled, "I found her! Come quickly!" So they battled through the pain and trotted over to where Glow Heart sat next to Applejack's motionless body. Blood poured from lethal wounds around her neck and head.

Sunset bent down and tried desperately to hear a heartbeat. Nothing. She got back up and whirled around on Rainbow Dash as tears came. "LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" She said, "THIS PONY WAS YOUR FRIEND AND NOW SHE'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR RECKLESSNESS AND ARROGANCE! YOU KILLED HER! YOU!"

She pointed an accusatory hoof in Dash's direction. Dash stood there with her mouth agape. Had her lack of friendship really sent Applejack to her doom? For that matter, how many times could this have happened while she was general in her army? "I…I…I…" She stuttered

"You what?!" Sunset asked angrily, "I'm getting sick and tired of your selfishness, greed, and arrogance! You took over the Crystal Empire, you eradicated the Crystal Ponies and their way of life and turned this into a grey collectivistic wasteland, you forced everypony here to bow to you and your self-appointed 'greatness,' and to top it all off, you've sent ponies who you called friends and allies into battle to die so you could have more stuff! YOU MAKE ME SICK!"

Sunset finished her rant, out of breath. Cadance stepped forward and put a hoof on Sunset's shoulder. "Do you really think that's the way to win her over?" She asked. Sunset realized how angry she had gotten. "Dash, I'm sorry," she said, "I shouldn't have spoken that way. But you needed to hear that."

"You're right," Dash said suddenly. The ponies all gasped. "Really?" Sunset asked incredulously. She couldn't believe that Dash could have such a huge change of heart so quickly. Applejack's death must have been more jarring than she thought.

Dash suddenly turned and walked back into the palace. Sunset couldn't believe her audacity. She thought that Dash just said that she was right! She thought Dash was having a change of heart! She thought her angry rant had broken through!

Suddenly, Dash reemerged holding a golden necklace with a lightning bolt on it. "My Element of Harmony," she said simply. Sunset was shocked. "But…why?" She asked, "I thought you didn't believe in friendship anymore."

Dash's eyes filled with tears and she looked completely humbled by the experience. "I didn't want to," she said, "ever since we had our huge fight and split up, all I've had on my mind was revenge. I wanted to kill Twilight. I wanted to watch her die. So I imprisoned Princess Luna in the hopes that Twilight would launch an attack on Dashopolis-er-The Crystal Empire and save her. I wanted Celestia, but she got away from my forces.

I remember our friendship. The fun times we had. The lessons we learned together. Now, none of that matters because I killed it. I destroyed a perfectly good friendship because I wanted a buck ball court in our school. My selfishness killed our friendship, and now it's killed Applejack!" She broke down crying and her subjects gasped again. They had never seen Dash this humble or remorseful about anything.

Sunset stepped forward and put a hoof on the shoulder that, only moments before, she had been biting in anger. She helped Dash to her hooves and the two hugged. "I'm so sorry," Dash whispered as they released each other, "I deserve to die. I've been a monster. Storm?"

One of the guards stepped forward and Dash held her arms out. "Kill me."

"NO!" Sunset suddenly yelled, "Dash, that's not the way. Yes, you did awful things. But everypony deserves a second chance. You need to make this right with Twilight."

Dash whirled around as her eyes welled up again, "I can't! I can't make this right! I can't ever make this right! I've taken too many lives!"

"Then let Celestia put you in Tartarus for a time or something like that. Don't kill yourself! You have so much left to live for! You can turn this around! You can be the Dash that was a loyal friend!"

"Do you think so?" Dash asked

"I know so," Sunset said. "I turned into a raging she-demon and transformed a bunch of teenage humans into a zombie army to do my bidding. Yet, they still forgave me and now I have a great group of friends because of it! Don't give up on friendship, Rainbow Dash. Don't give up on the merciful nature of ponies. Please…don't give up."

Dash stepped forward. "Please…show me how to make this right."

Sunset nodded and smiled. "The first step is going to speak with Twilight."

Dash recoiled a bit. "But if I meet Twilight, we'll just end up fighting again."

"Don't worry," Sunset said, "I'll be there with you. Now, will you return control of The Crystal Empire back to Shining Armor and Cadance?"

Dash nodded and bowed to the royal ponies. "I know nothing I do will ever make up for the harm I've caused you and your friends, but…"

Before she knew it, she was swept up in a royal hug. When they let her go, Cadance said, "we forgive you, Rainbow Dash. But that doesn't mean there aren't consequences. I'm going to speak with Celestia and Luna and we'll deduce a suitable punishment for you."

Dash nodded sadly. "That's fair," she said. Then she turned to Sunset. "I think I have a purple princess to talk to." Sunset nodded and the two of them said their farewells to Shining Armor, Cadance, and the rest of the Crystal Ponies. "Oh, before you all go," Cadance said before walking over to the shattered Crystal Heart. "I have something you need to see, Sunset," she said. She used her magic, and the spell she had learned for repairing the heart, to restore it. Magic shot all throughout the Empire, removing the dark clouds. The Crystal Ponies all turned completely transparent. Sunset and Rainbow Dash did the same. Sunset smiled as she waved a final goodbye to Flurry Heart. Then she and Dash trotted out of the village and back towards Ponyville.


	10. Meeting Twilight

Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer picked their way down a small hill full of rocks and other scattered natural debris. They were getting closer and closer to the former Ponyville, and with each hoof step taken, Dash's nervousness grew. She was scared to death of seeing her once close friend and now bitter rival. She didn't want to call her an enemy anymore, because that might defeat the purpose of coming all this way.

Still, though, her nerves were getting the best of her and she suddenly stopped. Sunset came up from behind and ran into Dash's rear end. "Oof!" Sunset grunted, "sorry, Dash. I didn't see you, there." Dash turned and gave Sunset a look of pure dread. "I…I can't do this!" She stammered, "Twilight's gonna kill me on the spot, Sunset! She hates me! She'll never want to be my friend again, especially after she hears how my incompetence and violence killed Applejack! She'll never wanna see me again!" She broke down and began bawling.

Sunset ran a comforting hoof through her mane. "It's OK, Rainbow," she said softly, "she'll forgive you for all this. I know she will."

"How the hay can you tell? She's just as awful of a dictator as I was!"

"That's why we're going to see her. To make her see that this isn't the way. To make her realize just how important you and friendship and the Elements of Harmony still are."

Dash nodded and seemed to cheer up. Truth be told, she hadn't had a constant companion like Sunset in quite some time. She got very lonely in her old throne room with nopony around to associate with. All she had were subordinates, and subordinates don't make very good friends, especially when you're forcing them to do your dirty work. _Boy, _she thought, _I really messed up. _

Even though she was nervous, there was a part of her that was excited to see her old friend. That part of her had missed Twilight so much since they parted ways. She wanted to grasp her in a hug and tell her how sorry she was for being so selfish. But she was worried that she might have to fight her way to that apology. Before long, Twilight's old castle might be stained with the blood of both mares.

She became woozy at the thought and stopped once again. Sunset walked around her and looked her in the eye. "Something wrong, Rainbow Dash?" She asked. "No," Dash replied, "I'm just nervous."

Sunset smiled. "Like I said, It's OK. We're gonna make this right, no matter what it takes."

"But what if we have to spill blood to make it right?"

Sunset stopped short. She hadn't thought of Twilight reacting with violence. Rainbow Dash, she understood, but Twilight had always been so level headed and rational about things. Add to that the fact that she had just been in a brutal fight and she didn't want to go through another one. She sighed. "If Twilight reacts with violence, we'll take every step necessary to protect ourselves. But in the meantime, we're gonna handle this diplomatically."

Dash nodded and the two new friends continued on their journey. After a few more hours, they reached Ponyville, or as they called it now, Sparkleberg. Dash looked around and gasped. It looked almost exactly the same as the old Dashopolis. The houses were broken and smashed and the yards were overgrown and unkempt. There was one big difference, though. There didn't seem to be any ponies milling about.

"Where is everypony?" She asked

"I don't know," Sunset replied, "when I first got out of the portal in Twilight's castle and came through here, this was exactly how it was. So I don't know where everypony is."

The drab, almost haunting sight of the deserted streets and abandoned homes made Dash feel all the more nervous. She kept slinking along behind Sunset, fearful that some type of apparition or undead pony would come out of the dense fog that thickened the streets. They came around a corner and looked at Twilight's castle.

They both gasped. Sunset had been in such a hurry to get to Canterlot before, that she hadn't taken a look at just how awful Twilight's castle looked from the outside. The walls were fading and crumbling. The steps, which used to be made of the purest marble, now lay broken and damaged. The castle that used to promote friendship now had the ugliest, most unfriendly look imaginable.

Dash's eyes widened as she looked across the polluted stream to the old School of Friendship. The windows were boarded up and the towers of the buildings had collapsed. The old dormitory was the only building left that seemed in usable condition. But even it looked terrible, with smashed glass and trash littering the yard. She couldn't believe that Twilight had let it get to this point.

"Alright," Sunset said, "let's go." Dash's hooves stayed firmly planted to the ground. She didn't want to go anywhere. "I am not setting hoof in that castle," she said resolutely. Sunset frowned. "Oh, come on, where's the fearless Rainbow Dash? Hm? Where's the Rainbow Dash that Twilight used to constantly write me about, telling me of her feats within the Wonderbolts?"

"Wonderbolts…" Dash said dreamily. Sunset smiled. She knew she had her right where she wanted her. "Well?" She challenged, "where is she?" Dash's look went from fearful to brave and Sunset thought she saw her mane flow like a superhero's cape. "I'm right here!" She said, "and I'm not afraid of anything or anyone!"

With that, she flew ahead before Sunset could stop her. "Dash, wait!" She said urgently. But Dash didn't listen. She burst through the front doors of the palace and flew up to Twilight, who sat on her throne. "Alright, you purple pain in my tail!" She said angrily, "just who the hay do you think you are?! I'm the only leader Equestria deserves!"

Twilight turned as anger burned in her eyes. "Rainbow Dash!" She said, "how dare you enter my castle and come to my land?! How dare you even attempt to call yourself a leader of anything?! HOW DARE YOU?!"

Sunset raced in, hoping to stop the shouting match before it turned bloody. "Rainbow Dash! Twilight! STOP!"

The two fighting ponies were about to come to blows, but turned and looked at Sunset. Twilight smiled, but her smile was insanely creepy. She got off her throne and spat back at Dash before embracing Sunset. "Sunset Shimmer," she said, "I've missed you so much!"

"You have?"

"Of course I have! You and I are the best of friends, aren't we?"

"Well…I wanna believe that."

"Then believe it, sister," Twilight said as she winked at Sunset, "we're friends through thick and thin."

"I thought you didn't believe in friendship anymore."

"Oh, I still believe in friendship," Twilight said, "I just like to be careful of the type of friends that I keep." Here she turned and stared murderously at Dash. The Pegasus returned the gesture. The tension built between the two as the silence grew. Sunset swore it was the loudest silence she had ever heard. The hatred that the two felt for each other was transmitted in every breath they took, every contemptuous snort they gave, and in every time one of them pawed at the ground.

They were about to charge at each other, but Sunset stepped in. "Twilight, can you and I talk privately?"

"Of course," Twilight said, "anything for you, Sunset. Guards, watch Rainbow Dash. If she so much as looks the wrong way, I want her head lopped off!"

So the two mares walked off down the broken hallway. "Boy," Sunset said, "this place sure could use a little fixing up, don't you think?" 

Twilight shrugged, "meh, it's OK."

"What about the ponies in your village? Their homes look pretty terrible…"

Once again, she shrugged. "I think they're doing just fine."

"But, Twilight…"

"Did you come here to criticize the way I run things or did you come here to be friendly?" Twilight suddenly barked. Sunset noticed that the red that laced her eyes was glowing again. She also noticed that the charm around her neck was glowing as well. She didn't want to press the housing issue further, so she changed the subject.

"That's a very, um, pretty charm you're wearing."

Twilight smiled, "why, thank you, Sunset! It was a gift from my senior advisor, Rarity!"

"Oh, is she your advisor?" Sunset said, hoping to get Twilight to a point where she might talk some sense back into her, "she was so sweet and generous."

"Oh, she's still sweet and generous…just as long as somepony does everything I tell them to do."

Sunset saw that tact and grace weren't going to work on somepony as stubborn as Twilight. So she stopped in front of the princess. "Twilight, we're friends, right?"

"Of course!"

"So I can speak with you as a friend?"

"Yep!"

Sunset breathed, "Twilight, I was sent here by Princess Celestia."

"Ah, Celestia," Twilight said. Sunset was shocked by her seemingly positive reaction to the name drop, "you know, she taught me everything I know about being a leader."

"So she taught you to be a horrible dictator?"

Twilight turned, her eyes glowing a horrible red. "WHAT did you call me?!" 

"A horrible dictator!"

Twilight became furious. "I AM NOT A DICTATOR!" She screamed, "I AM A LEADER! YOU WANT A DICTATOR?! GO LOOK AT THAT BRACKISH BLUE BUNCH OF BILE SITTING ON MY FLOOR OUT THERE! THAT'S A DICTATOR!"

"You're BOTH dictators!" Sunset said, "why can't you see that?!"

"Because I refuse to accept any more lies!" Twilight said sharply, "Dash lied to me, and Applejack and Pinkie Pie had the GALL to go along with her…and now I find you helping her?! Maybe we aren't friends after all!"

"We are friends, Twilight!" Sunset said desperately, "but so are you and Dash!"

"She's not my friend! SHE NEVER WAS AND SHE NEVER WILL BE!"

"That's not true," Sunset pleaded, "you know it's not true. What about all the fun times you two shared together? I remember you writing me about them! I remember you writing me about helping her pass her Wonderbolts History exam!"

Twilight scoffed, "she's lucky I took the time out of MY busy day to help her with her sniveling little test. It didn't matter to me whether she passed or not!"

"Again, that's not true! I could tell that you cared. Your emotions poured out of the words on the page. No offense, Twilight, but you'd be an absolute fool to let such a good friend slip through your hooves!"

Twilight turned and slammed Sunset up against the wall, "you dare to speak to the ruler of Equestria like that?!"

"You aren't the ruler of Equestria!"

"Yes, I am!"

"No, you're not! You know darn well you aren't, but you're too stubborn to admit it!"

Twilight's eyes began filling with tears. She fought them off and slammed Sunset against the wall again. "I am not stubborn! I am the ruler, and Equestria can thank me for the wonderful state that it's in!"

"Wonderful?! Twilight, have you looked out the window lately?! There are fires burning, ponies are actively losing their homes, businesses, and livelihoods! Lives are being destroyed! Ponies are dying over their allegiances to either you or Dash! IT'S TIME TO STOP THIS!"

Both ponies breathed heavily as Sunset silently willed things not to get physical. Anger and hurt burned in Twilight's eyes. She dropped Sunset and turned her back on her. "Twilight," Sunset pressed, "please…"

"…I'm sorry, Sunset," Twilight said as she took the charm from around her neck, "I'm sorry for everything I've done. But I would rather die than be friends with that putrid Pegasus." She raised the charm and Sunset was shocked when a small knife emerged from it. "NO!" Sunset screamed and leapt at Twilight, knocking the charm away.

She pinned Twilight down and noticed that the red in her eyes was completely gone, replaced by the soft purple she knew. "Twilight! Stop this! You've got to forgive Rainbow Dash! If you don't, then Equestria will be destroyed before the month is over! You've got to forgive and forget! You've got to!"

"I don't have to do anything!" Twilight yelled, "I deserve this kingdom! Celestia, Luna, and my worthless sister-in-law Cadance can't hold a candle to what I could accomplish as Queen!"

"Twilight! STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Sunset screamed as she shook Twilight frantically. "Please! You have to listen! Take down the walls you've built against friendship and listen to me! Rainbow Dash is out there wanting your forgiveness! She wants to be your friend, so why the hay don't you want to be hers?!" 

"BECAUSE SHE SAID I WAS NOTHING TO HER!" Twilight said as the tears came. She broke down crying and Sunset picked her up and embraced her. "I loved her like a sister," Twilight choked out, "I helped her when she needed it. I wanted to be there for her. But I guess years of support and friendship don't count for anything."

"To hear you talk, it's a wonder Celestia didn't choose somepony else to be the Princess of Friendship. You ran the School of Friendship. Have you forgotten your own lectures and lessons? You know friendship is all about second chances. If you and Dash had simply forgiven and forgotten, then all of this devastation wouldn't be happening right now. Please, Twilight. Just go out and talk to her."

Twilight removed herself from Sunset's embrace and walked silently back down the hall. The yellow mare followed her, thankful that she didn't have to endure the hoof fight she had to with Rainbow Dash. They reemerged in the front hall to find Spike, Rarity, Starlight, and Fluttershy standing there. Spike and Rarity were both staring daggers at Dash. "Don't you move, you traitor," Spike said coldly.

"Spike, darling," Rarity said, "I think Rainbow Dash would look good with one of those spikes on your helmet shoved through her throat, don't you think?"

"Oh, baby, you're absolutely right," Spike said, "I love it when you get all violent. Now get your tail over here!" She moved to him and they began kissing excessively. Sunset realized, with more than a bit of revulsion, that Spike had married Rarity. Twilight stepped forward and separated the two of them. "That's enough," she said. 

"But, Twilight, you always said we could make out whenever…"

"I said, 'that's enough,'" Twilight said as she gave Rarity a stern look. Rarity backed off and Twilight stepped over to where Dash was. "Withdraw," she softly commanded the guards. "Yes, Your Majesty," the head guard said and they all went and stood along the walls of the palace. Much to the shock of everypony, including Sunset, Twilight helped Dash back to her hooves.

The two friends turned enemies stood and stared at each other. Sunset silently begged them to be nice to each other and to turn control of Equestria back to the four princess format of before. Twilight sighed. "We've been through a lot together," she said.

Dash nodded, "yeah, we sure have."

Twilight giggled a bit, causing even more shock to emanate throughout the room. "Do you remember the time we all got caught in that joke weed stuff and my horn went all limp with blue dots and you couldn't fly worth anything?"

Dash began laughing hard, "yes, I do!" She said through her chuckles, "and do you remember the time that you went all nuts because you didn't turn in your letter to Celestia on time?"

By this point, the two mares were laughing so hard, they were having to hold each other up. They couldn't see it, but Sunset was beaming at the whole affair. She was thrilled that this was happening. It appeared that, finally, friendship's beams were breaking through the dark clouds that had overtaken both of their hearts.

They finished their laughing and wiped away some happy tears. "Dash," Twilight said, "let's end this. I want to go back to the way things were. I've been a horrible excuse for a Princess of Friendship. I didn't even follow my own lessons! I don't deserve any of this. I don't even deserve to have you as a friend."

"No, Twilight," Dash said as tears came, "I'm the one that doesn't deserve you. You treated me like a sister, and I treated you like a whipping post. I'm sorry for every time I ever called you an egghead. But more than that, I'm sorry for the selfishness with which I've been acting. I'm sorry we came to blows. I'm sorry I'm such a worthless excuse for a friend!"

The two mares began crying and embraced each other. Spike and Rarity looked on in disgust. However, Fluttershy and Starlight Glimmer looked on in absolute joy. They never said anything, but they always hoped that this would happen. They were sick and tired of commanding ponies in battle, even though Fluttershy surprisingly turned out to be an excellent tactician. They were tired of the fighting and the bloodshed. They wanted to fix Equestria, and it looked as if they were getting their wish.

Dash and Twilight ended their embrace and smiled at each other as they wiped tears away. "Wait a minute!" Rarity suddenly shouted, "how can you give her another chance, Twilight?! She called you such repulsive names! She struck you and broke your wings! She is the one that has wrought all of this evil on Equestria!"

"Rarity," Twilight said, "you represent the Element of Generosity. I think one of the most generous things a true friend can do is give another friend a second chance after they've messed up."

Sunset suddenly saw another burst of magic light up the sky as more of the dark clouds were chased away. The sky was vibrant with color and it made all the ponies, except for Rarity, smile widely. "I've missed that sky," Dash said. "Me too," Twilight said.

"I just don't get it," Rarity said, "after all the awful things she did to you!"

"We've got to stop living in the past, Rarity," Twilight said, "don't you miss our little group of friends and the adventures we used to share?"

"I…er…," Rarity stammered. Truth be told, she did miss it. But she also loved the power of being a high ranking general in Twilight's army. "I just don't know!" She suddenly yelled, "I loved our group, but I love being so powerful!"

"Let me ask you something," Sunset suddenly spoke up, "which would you rather have: a lifetime of power and authority and no friends or no power and no authority, but the friends that you've made throughout your life?"

Rarity stopped and pondered this for a bit. "I guess it would get lonely…" She finally said. Spike took his helmet off and looked down at the floor. He thought of the times he had commanded ponies to go into battle and they hadn't come back. He thought of the blood he had shed with his claws and his sword. None of it had made Equestria better, as Twilight had originally promised. It had only made it worse.

He stepped forward and faced his best friend and the mare that had raised him from birth. "Twilight," he said, "…can we go back to the way things were?"

"Of course," she said as she pulled him into a hug, "I'm tired of all the fighting. I just want to be with my friends." At this, all of her friends surrounded her and they all embraced. Sunset stood aside and shed tears at the beauty of it all. She noticed even more magic lacing the sky and driving the dark smoke away.

Then, Pinkie Pie came bouncing in out of nowhere and knocked Twilight over in a big hug. "Pinkie Pie?!" Sunset said in shock, "where the hay did you come from?!"

"I followed you and Rainbow Dash, silly!"

"But we never noticed you!"

"I know…I wanted to surprise you! Now, if nopony else is gonna cry, I hereby declare…FRIENDSHIP PARTY!"

The ponies all cheered and, within minutes, the front hall of Twilight's castle turned into an impromptu dance floor. Sunset looked on and smiled. She looked to the sky to see the last of the dark smoke vanish. The sun shone down on them, and the friends who had drifted so far apart danced and laughed in its light. The power of friendship was alive and well in Equestria, and Sunset couldn't have been happier.


	11. Celestia and Luna Return

The friendship party lasted for the rest of that day and into the night. Each of the seven ponies gave their apologies to each other and the group was knit back together. They also gave great thanks to Sunset, who had brought them closer than ever before. Unfortunately, actions have consequences, and both Twilight and Rainbow Dash were about to get a rude awakening.

After the party concluded, the seven ponies retired for the night. They each found a spot to sleep in the remains of what was once a beautiful castle. Twilight graciously offered Sunset the use of her chambers as a guest, and Sunset accepted. She settled down on the blankets Spike provided for her and went to sleep.

During the course of their adventure, Celestia had managed to make it on hoof all the way to the Crystal Empire. She arrived shortly after the great battle between the forces of Rainbow Dash and the villagers had concluded and was shocked and distraught to find the town square covered with blood and the bodies of the dead.

She walked over to Applejack's corpse and nudged it over, grieving at the sight of the young mare. _This is evil, _she said to herself, _it has no place in Equestria. As soon as Sunset Shimmer makes things right, Twilight and her friends will be duly punished for this. _She looked up and saw Cadance and her family. "Auntie Celestia!" Flurry Heart cried as she raced forward into her great aunt's loving embrace.

"Oh, my little Flurry!" Celestia said as the tears came, "I'm so glad you're safe!"

Cadance and Shining Armor walked over and hugged Celestia in turn. "I'm so thrilled to see the two of you…but I'm saddened by what has taken place here." She pointed a hoof around them at the bloodshed. "How did it get so out of hoof? I thought Sunset was going to be diplomatic about things."

"She tried," Cadance said, "honest, she did. But Dash wasn't having any of it. Soon, things broke out into total chaos."

Celestia looked around and wept silently. She couldn't believe that her beloved Equestria could turn so violent so quickly. _I guess even Equestria can be met with the bonds and chains that unnecessary warfare brings, _she said to herself, _everypony in this country of ours has been enslaved by the bondage of enmity. Now, I just hope Sunset can put things right._

Out loud, she asked, "where is Sunset, anyway?" So Cadance and Shining Armor told her the entire story. When they finished, Celestia's mouth was agape. "Sunset and Rainbow really fought so viciously?" She asked in disbelief. The other royal ponies nodded. "I don't like war," Celestia said, "in fact, I can't think of anypony who does. But, I know sometimes it is necessary for defense."

"This wasn't really a war, Celestia," Shining Armor said, "it was more of a one-time battle."

"You wanna tell me there wasn't a war here, Shining Armor?" Celestia asked sternly, "even one-time battles can be wars! Look! Look around you!"

Shining took another look at the blood that painted the walls of the buildings around them. The stench of decay laced the early evening air. He choked and gagged on it. He turned back to Celestia. "I have to agree with you," he said, "it may have only been one battle, but there was a war here."

Celestia's look softened and she smiled, but then suddenly remembered something. "My sister!" She said, "we have to get her out of prison!"

"That's already been done," said a new voice and Celestia turned to see her beloved sister standing there. She was covered with scratches and she looked as if she hadn't eaten in a while, but she was alive that that was all that mattered to Celestia. She threw her hooves around her sister as the two reunited in a scene that looked very familiar to their first reunion all those years ago.

"My dear sister," Celestia sobbed into Luna's shoulder, "I am beyond ecstatic to see you once again. It's been too long!"

"Indeed it has," Luna said as tears ran down her cheeks, "I have missed you, Celestia."

"And I you, Luna," Celestia said. The two sisters reveled at being in each other's embrace for a few moments before breaking apart. They smiled at each other. Their small team was back together, and they knew they would never split apart again. They would face down any adversary together.

But as happy as the reunion was, there was still a problem. "I have no magic," Celestia said, "I have no idea how the sun was raised today."

"I took care of it, Celestia," Luna said.

"But…Luna," Celestia said, "I…how?! You only have the power to raise the moon!"

"Yes, but Rainbow Dash had stolen your power to raise the sun. So I managed to steal it back, as it were."

"But I thought your prison was magic proof."

"So did I. But I worked at it and finally found a way to get around that little annoyance. See, the cage worked on the principal of Horsinium."

"From the 3rd Equestrian Century? The Grand Wizard who tried to suck magic out of Equestria for himself?"

"The same. Anyway, the cage worked on his principal and, having studied that principal extensively, I was able to find loopholes in it that allowed me to break free of the magical prison. Unfortunately, I couldn't escape the physical one. So I was able to regain your power to raise the sun, and I've been pulling double duty ever since."

Celestia smiled. "I'm so proud of you, my sister," she said. Luna smiled as well, "now I need to return it to you," she said. So she backed up and fired a magic blast at her sister's heart. The power coursed through Celestia's veins. Her mane returned to its magnificent flowing nature and she regained her wings. Her horn glowed gold as her old luster returned. This was the Celestia that everypony knew and loved.

After transforming back to an Alicorn, she turned to her sister with a rather solemn look. "Luna, we have some business to take care of."

"I take it you mean punishing those who have brought harm to our land?"

"I do," Celestia said sadly, "we must head for Ponyville at once! There's no telling what's going on there."

"We'll come with you," Cadance said. But Celestia shook her head. "I'm sorry, Cadance, but you have to rebuild The Crystal Empire. The blood that was spilled here shall be remembered for all time, but you must recapture the love and friendship that this village and this area has always been known for."

Cadance nodded and Flurry ran forward and wrapped herself around her great aunt's leg. "Don't go, Auntie Celestia!" She squeaked urgently, "please don't go!" Celestia smiled down at her little niece. "Don't worry, dear," she said, "I'll come back and visit just as soon as I can."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart," she said before taking to the sky. Luna quickly followed after her. They both stopped and waved their hooves at Shining Armor and his family before speeding off towards Ponyville. On the way there, they noticed that the black smoke was beginning to clear and magic bursts lit up the sky like fireworks. _Oh, I hope this is what I think it is, _Celestia thought.

"Sister," Luna said, "you haven't told me why we're going back to Ponyville."

"Sunset Shimmer managed to inject friendship back into Rainbow Dash. They went off to Ponyville to try and do the same to Twilight. I just hope that she was successful."

"Sunset Shimmer? You mean the yellow mare we helped that one time?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes. I sent her on this mission because I know that she knows the true value of friendship, and if anypony could talk some sense back into Twilight, it's her."

Luna nodded as they swooped down into Ponyville. By that point, the evening was well upon them and the two sisters realized it was time to perform their duties. So Celestia lowered the sun and Luna raised the moon high in the sky. The stars twinkled overhead. "What a beautiful night," Luna said.

Celestia nodded, but then turned solemn. "Indeed, it is. But come. We have one more duty to perform."

Luna nodded as well and they both headed for Twilight's castle. They opened the door to find it deserted. _Oh, I hope Sunset was able to turn Twilight back like she did Rainbow Dash. _They walked from door to door, finding different ponies sleeping. "Celestia," Luna whispered, "maybe we should wait until morning."

"Yes, you're right," Celestia said. "We should find a place to rest for now…or at least, I should. Don't you have to protect dreams?" Luna responded with a large yawn. "I can't move my hooves another step and I can't beat my wings once more. Normally I sleep during the day, but I was unable to for obvious reasons. The dreams of the ponies have survived without me for this long, one more night won't hurt."

So they found a small area in a dark corner of the castle's main hall and curled up next to each other. "This reminds me of when we slept together as fillies, before we found our powers and became princesses," Luna said. She snuggled closer to her sister, who responded by putting a wing around her. "You know I'll always be here for you, right?"

"Of course," Luna said, "and I couldn't be more grateful. I love you, Tia."

Celestia smiled in the darkness. "It's been a long time since you called me that," she said, "I love you too, Luna." The royal sisters, exhausted by their journey and loving the feel of being near each other, fell into a deep sleep.


	12. Aftermath

The next morning, the royal sisters arose before everypony else and walked together in the hallways of the dilapidated castle. Neither of them wanted to do what they had to do, but they knew if they didn't accomplish this task, then the precedent would be set for treasonous ponies down through Equestrian ages. They could do anything and get away with it.

"I hate all of this, sister," Luna said bluntly. Celestia nodded in return. "So do I, but we must do our duty, even though they are our friends."

"Have you decided a proper punishment for Twilight and Rainbow Dash?"

"I believe so. But, I'd like a second opinion…yours, to be exact."

So the sisters spent the next few moments discussing punishments for Twilight and her friends. They had broken all of Equestrian law. The harshest penalties had to be levied against them. But neither sister wanted to pronounce judgment. They wanted to rewind time itself and return to the simple time when there were four princesses and they all ruled jointly.

But they also knew that nothing could ever be the same again. The blood of the innocent had been spilled recklessly and somepony had to pay the price for it. For Twilight and Rainbow Dash, the ultimate in harsh penalties would be levied. For their friends, something less harsh, but still life altering.

So, after performing their daily royal duties, they awoke everypony and made them stand before them in the main hall of Twilight's castle. Celestia and Luna both had their wings spread and they gave them each a stern look. Twilight gulped. She knew she had crossed a major line. She had completely lost control of herself and because of her selfishness, three quarters of Equestria now lay in ruins.

"Sunset Shimmer," Celestia began, "please step forward." So the yellow mare came forward, trembling as she did so. She had no idea why Celestia and Luna were looking at her that way. Hadn't she been the one to stop all this? Shouldn't she be receiving praise and adulation from the two sisters?

"Stand next to me," Celestia softly commanded. So Sunset took her place next to the Princess of the Day. "Sunset Shimmer," Celestia went on, "we have been duly impressed with the way you have handled yourself over the course of this mission. You, my dear, know what true friendship is and have helped return it to our beloved home. I am very proud of you."

Celestia smiled down at her former student, who beamed right back. "I am especially proud of the way that you quelled the battle between Rainbow Dash and the villagers of the Crystal Empire. You started to give in to wonton violence, but in the end, you stopped yourself and recognized that being a friend is more important than winning a fight."

Sunset's mouth fell open. How did Celestia know about the battle? "Your Majesty," Sunset said, "forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn but…how did you know?" Celestia smiled again. "I went to the Crystal Empire, and Cadance and Shining Armor told me the whole story." "Oh…" Sunset said in understanding, "okay."

Then Celestia's look turned angry and she turned back to the cowering ponies at her hooves. "Rainbow Dash!" She said furiously, "you have been tried by my sister and I and found guilty of treasonous actions against the dominion of Equestria! This is the most egregious act one pony can commit. The penalty for such an act is generally death. However, we wish to promote the returning spirit of friendship and harmony. So we will not execute you. However, I hereby sentence you to a life imprisonment in Tartarus."

Dash gasped. She knew the punishment would be severe, and she was grateful that they had spared her life, but…a life imprisonment? "No! Please, Your Majesty! If I'm imprisoned there for the rest of my life…I'll never see the blue skies or Equestria or be with the Wonderbolts ever again!"

"I'm sorry, Dash, but you must understand the severity of your crime. Tomorrow morning, I will banish you. You may not step hoof in Equestria again after noontime tomorrow. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am…"

Celestia's look softened and she smiled at Rainbow. "However, I do want to commend you on being humble enough to recognize your mistakes and brave enough to face Twilight and rekindle your friendship with her. I'm very proud of you in that regard. Also, there is such a thing as good behavior, you know. If you show me that you have truly changed, in 25 years I will hear your case again and decide whether or not to let you out on parole."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Dash said. She still wasn't happy about spending at least 25 years in Tartarus, but being set free after 25 years was better than not being set free at all. Plus, that would give her a chance to reconnect with her friends, even though they would probably all be older.

Celestia's look hardened again and she turned to Twilight, who lay trembling at her hooves. "Twilight Sparkle!" The princess said loudly, "you too have been found guilty of treason! Because you are a Princess of Equestria, this action comes with an even greater penalty. I'm sorry, Twilight, but I hereby declare that you shall be stripped of your wings and your Princess title!"

Twilight bowed her head solemnly and nodded, accepting the first part of her punishment. "I also declare that, on the 5th day of next month…you are to be executed via decapitation in the public square of Canterlot."

Gasps abounded throughout the room. Sunset raced in front of Celestia. "Princess Celestia, please! I thought you said you wanted to celebrate the returning spirit of friendship and harmony! What would be accomplished through this course of action?"

"I'm sorry, Sunset," the Princess said solemnly, "but since Twilight was the Princess of Friendship, the severity of the punishment must fit the severity of the crime. Rainbow Dash was a treasonous citizen. Twilight was treasonous royalty."

Sunset's mouth fell open and she began crying. She didn't want to lose Twilight. She was her best friend. She ran to the purple pony and fell on her shoulder and wept. "Please, Princess!" Sunset begged, "please don't take her away from me! Please!"

Twilight gently removed the weeping pony from her shoulder. "Sunset," she said solemnly, "it's okay. I accept this. I was a monster, and monsters deserve the punishment I have been given. At least Celestia was merciful enough not to torture me before death." At this, everypony began chattering with the pony beside them.

Suddenly, Celestia put a hoof up. "Silence!" She commanded, and the chattering ceased. "Twilight Sparkle," she said, "I have had a change of heart. Your friend is absolutely right. I did say I was going to celebrate the returning spirit of friendship and harmony. In light of that, I am going to lessen your sentence. You shall not die."

Sunset and Twilight beamed and embraced each other. "Thank you, Princess!" Twilight said as tears ran down her cheeks, "thank you!"

"However," Celestia said, "there shall still be consequences. I sentence you to a life imprisonment in Tartarus with Rainbow Dash. After 25 years, you shall be invited to the same hearing and I shall decide whether or not to set you free. I am also still stripping you of your Princess status and your wings shall leave immediately."

As soon as she said that, Twilight yelled in agony as her wings began to self-destruct. The muscles that held them up failed and they collapsed on the ground next to her. Twilight lay in a great amount of pain and Sunset held her face with a hoof. "I'm so sorry, Sunset," Twilight said, "for everything."

"Sh…" Sunset said comfortingly, "don't worry. You're still my best friend, no matter what." The former princess turned and smiled at the yellow mare and fought through the pain to embrace her once more. Celestia and Luna both smiled at their determined friendliness and made mental notes at the change in Twilight's attitude.

As the day went along, punishments were levied against all of Twilight's friends. Spike and Rarity were sentenced to 35 years in Tartarus and had their marriage legally annulled, but they defiantly told Celestia they still loved each other. Celestia said that was fine, but they could no longer be legally married. Fluttershy and Starlight were each sentenced to 20 years in Tartarus and then 7 years of community service to Ponyville once they were released. Celestia went easy on them, because they had attempted to get Twilight to change her ways.

They held a moment of silence and a small memorial for Applejack, who had died heroically in an attempt to bring harmony back to Equestria. Sunset and Twilight wept on each other's shoulders in memory of their dear friend. Celestia declared that all of Equestria would observe an annual "Applejack Day," during which all citizens would go out and work hard to help their Earth pony friends raise their crops, and run their businesses. The other ponies all voiced their approval and agreement of this declaration.

Finally, Pinkie Pie was sentenced to 25 years in Tartarus and another 10 years of personal service to Celestia and Luna, as she was the one who stole Celestia's magic with the help of the unicorns in their army, assaulted Luna, and tossed her in a cage at Rainbow Dash's command. Pinkie's mane deflated as she realized she wouldn't be able to throw any fun parties for at least 35 years. She begged Celestia to relent, but the Princess was firm. "Law breakers will not be tolerated in Equestria," she said simply.

The next day, Celestia made good on her word and, with tears staining her eyes, banished all of them to Tartarus for the predetermined length of time. Sunset watched them go and wept at the devastating sight. Twilight's eyes blinked tears of their own as she was taken up into the huge vortex Celestia created. That vortex went across Equestria and dumped Twilight and her friends into the pits of Tartarus to serve out their sentences.

After the display was over, Celestia pulled Sunset into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Sunset," she said, "but it had to be done."

"I understand," Sunset said, "but…did it have to be for so long?"

Celestia nodded. "We have to have the punishment fit the crime. If not, then we would be known as lenient on those who do Equestria wrong. We can't be seen that way. Now, I think it's time you were heading back to your world."

Sunset nodded and Celestia created a magic rift between dimensions for her to pass through. "Now you don't have to go rummaging through this dank castle to find the portal again," she said. Sunset smiled gratefully and jumped through the rift, landing right back at Canterlot High School.


	13. Epilogue: Canterlot High School

Sunset found herself standing in front of the statuesque portal in the hours before school began. She put her hand up to it, but the marble didn't separate. The statue of a rearing horse that also served as the gateway to her old home was shut up for at least another thirty moons. In a way, she was happy. She had fulfilled her promise to Celestia. She had completed her mission. She had brought true friendship back to Equestria.

But in another way, she was terribly sad and lonely. Even though she knew she had wonderful friends waiting on her back in this world, she missed her Equestrian friends. Evil though they had been, they were still her friends and they always would be. _But they're in Tartarus, serving lengthy sentences, _she thought, _and the only hope I'll have of seeing them again is to go back and beg Celestia to let me. What if…what if she doesn't?_

She didn't have time to ponder that thought anymore because she was knocked down by Pinkie Pie. "WELCOME HOME, SUNSET!" Pinkie screamed, "I'M SO WAY BEYOND EXCITED TO SEE YOU!"

"Pinkie!" Sunset said, "it's great to see you too, but I'm right here!"

"Oh, sorry!" Pinkie whispered.

Sunset returned Pinkie's embrace and before she knew it, her friends had surrounded her, chattering and asking her rapid fire questions about what had happened. Sunset looked at a nearby clock and saw they had quite a bit of time before their first period. So she sat them down and told them the entire story.

Their mouths opened wider and wider as she told them of the bloodshed in The Crystal Empire and of how cruelty and spite had overtaken their old friend Twilight. She told them of Rainbow Dash and her arrogance, and her human friend of the same name blushed a bit. She was embarrassed at just how close their personalities were, even though she was a human and the other Dash was a pony.

"So," Twilight said, "how did you get Princess Twilight and the pony Dash to quit fighting?"

"I didn't," she replied, "they did that on their own. I just kinda pushed them in that direction."

"Wait just a cotton pickin' minute," Applejack said, "if the pony version of me's dead, then why ain't I dead?"

"Because the dimensional continuum doesn't work that way," Twilight stated matter-of-factly, "the jumps between worlds cause the transcendent nature of personalities to reoccur in the subsequent universes, but the actual subjects involved and what befalls them, be it life, death, marriage, and the like cannot transcend those dimensions unless they make a manual effort to transcend said dimensions."

She finished, blinking and smiling. Applejack's mouth fell open, and then she smiled. "I'm just gonna have to take yer word for it, Twi." The girls all laughed and embraced each other. Then they went into school, ready to face another day as the best of friends.


End file.
